Current weather

Plane flips over on takeoff

&nbsp;
Kenai police are investigating what caused a Cessna 150 floatplane to fail getting airborne before reaching the end of the Kenai Airport floatplane basin, where it skidded onto the sand and flipped onto its back Saturday. No injuries were reported.
Photo courtesy of Kenai Police D

Kenai police are investigating what caused a Cessna 150 floatplane to fail getting airborne before reaching the end of the Kenai Airport floatplane basin, where it skidded onto the sand and flipped onto its back Saturday. No injuries were reported.

Photo courtesy of Kenai Police D

Even though the Kenai airport's floatplane basin was lengthened by 1,000 feet this year, a pilot ran out of runway Saturday and wound up flipping his plane over its nose and onto its back. No injuries were reported.

A Cessna 150, piloted by Dave Hanson of Soldotna, was attempting to take off Saturday, but according to Kenai police, Hanson noticed something wrong with the plane, tried to abort his takeoff, but was unable to stop the aircraft before reaching the end of the floatplane basin.

"It skidded up on the sand at the end of the basin and flipped over," Police Chief Chuck Kopp said Monday.

Also onboard the aircraft was Hanson's wife, Susan, according to police.

One person who witnessed the accident Fred McLeod said, "I saw him taxi down (the floatplane basin) and it looked weird ... It looked like his floats were full of water."

According to Kopp, Hanson said he is an experienced pilot but does not have much time flying with floats.

Newly appointed airport manager Mary Bondurant said Hanson was in the process of purchasing the plane from Joe Hillyer of Soldotna.

She said the plane was removed by Saturday evening and by 7:30 p.m., "the water runway was back to full operation."

The plane was taken to an aircraft maintenance hangar at the airport.

The tail section of the aircraft received extensive damage, and Bondurant said Hanson had a mechanic come to the airport Monday to inspect the plane.